As has been the case for most of the 2023 Xfinity Series season, the NASCAR Ford teams lagged behind the Chevys and Toyotas during qualifying at Circuit of the Americas for the race on March 25th, 2023.
In fact, the best Mustang racer during time trials was that of Riley Herbst, driver of the No. 98 NASCAR Ford, who will start seventh, thanks to his time of 134.933 seconds at 90.978 mph. For comparison, polesitter AJ Allmendinger put the No. 10 Chevy Camaro up front with a time of 133.184 seconds at 92.173 mph, while second-place Sammy Smith’s No. 18 Toyota Supra got around the Texas road course in 133.686 seconds at 91.827 mph.
Meanwhile, Cole Custer, driver of the No. 00 NASCAR Ford Mustang, is the only other Blue Oval racer to start in the top 10, claiming the 10th starting spot. After that, Cup Series regular Aric Almirola will start 13th as his No. 8 Ford Mustang is the only other Ford racer who will take the green flag from within the top 20.
The Xfinity Series race at COTA will begin at 4:30 pm E.T. on Saturday, March 25th.
| Pos | Car Number | Driver | Team | Time | Speed | Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | AJ Allmendinger(i) | Celsius Chevrolet | 133.184 | 92.173 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 2 | 18 | Sammy Smith # | Pilot Flying J Toyota | 133.686 | 91.827 | Toyota Supra |
| 3 | 19 | Ty Gibbs(i) | Monster Energy Toyota | 133.922 | 91.665 | Toyota Supra |
| 4 | 2 | Sheldon Creed | Whelen Chevrolet | 133.941 | 91.652 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 5 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing Spiked Chevrolet | 134.612 | 91.195 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 6 | 20 | John Hunter Nemechek | Romco Equipment Toyota | 134.871 | 91.02 | Toyota Supra |
| 7 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Monster Energy Ford | 134.933 | 90.978 | Ford Mustang |
| 8 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | BRANDT Chevrolet | 134.986 | 90.943 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 9 | 17 | William Byron(i) | HendrickCars.com Chevrolet | 0 | 0 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 10 | 0 | Cole Custer | Haas Automation Ford | 0 | 0 | Ford Mustang |
| 11 | 11 | Daniel Hemric | Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet | 134.153 | 91.507 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 12 | 21 | Austin Hill | Bennett Transportation Chevrolet | 134.412 | 91.331 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 13 | 8 | Aric Almirola(i) | Rush Truck Centers Ford | 134.503 | 91.269 | Ford Mustang |
| 14 | 1 | Sam Mayer | Accelerate Pros Talent Chevrolet | 134.75 | 91.102 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 15 | 8 | Josh Berry | Tire Pros Love The Drive Chevrolet | 135.098 | 90.867 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 16 | 44 | Sage Karam | Quality Roof Seamers Chevrolet | 135.33 | 90.712 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 17 | 7 | Carson Hocevar(i) | Engine Parts Plus Chevrolet | 135.393 | 90.669 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 18 | 88 | Miguel Paludo | BRANDT Chevrolet | 135.436 | 90.641 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 19 | 50 | Preston Pardus | Garage Oil Spirits Chevrolet | 135.521 | 90.584 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 20 | 26 | Kaz Grala | Fire Department Coffee Toyota | 135.613 | 90.522 | Toyota Supra |
| 21 | 27 | Jeb Burton | State Water Heaters/HeartBeat Chevrolet | 135.646 | 90.5 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 22 | 24 | Connor Mosack | Toyota Racing Development Toyota | 135.674 | 90.482 | Toyota Supra |
| 23 | 92 | Alex Labbe | Alloy Employer Services Chevrolet | 135.683 | 90.476 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 24 | 91 | Josh Bilicki | Insurance King/Zeigler Chevrolet | 135.754 | 90.428 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 25 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Straitline Nitro Chevrolet | 135.775 | 90.414 | Ford Mustang |
| 26 | 9 | Brandon Jones | Menards/Char-Broil Grills Chevrolet | 135.829 | 90.378 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 27 | 16 | Chandler Smith # | Quick Tie Products Inc. Chevrolet | 136.079 | 90.212 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 28 | 25 | Brett Moffitt | AM Technical Solutions Ford | 136.709 | 89.797 | Ford Mustang |
| 29 | 78 | Anthony Alfredo | Pit Boss Chevrolet | 136.792 | 89.742 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 30 | 53 | Brad Perez | Apex/Weiss Sand & Clay LP Chevrolet | 136.806 | 89.733 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 31 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | CMRroofing.com Ford | 136.933 | 89.65 | Ford Mustang |
| 32 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Four Loko Chevrolet | 137.387 | 89.353 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 33 | 2 | Kyle Weatherman | Our Motorsports Chevrolet | 137.505 | 89.277 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 34 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff # | FUNKAWAY Chevrolet | Owner Points | 88.676 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 35 | 38 | Joe Graf Jr. | G-Coin Ford | Owner Points | 88.539 | Ford Mustang |
| 36 | 45 | Jeffrey Earnhardt | Gas POS/BZ Mart Chevrolet | Owner Points | 88.296 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 37 | 6 | Brennan Poole | BeONE Sports Chevrolet | Owner Points | 87.809 | Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 |
| 38 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | Ford | Owner Points | 87.003 | Ford Mustang |
# – Rookie
i – Points ineligible
* – Part-time driver
Subscribe to Ford Authority for more Ford racing news, NASCAR news, and ongoing Ford news coverage.
No Comments yet